Author
Topic: The Gathering (Read 38022 times)

Marcus gave a feral grin and, gripping his axe with both hands, roared and charged the bugs. Giving in to his ancestral battle-rage, Marcus brought his axe down in a powerful sweep of death.

Power Attack. Barbarian Rage. Attack roll: (14:46:16) Minion: caesar193 rolls 1d20 and gets 18. Hit, I believe. Damage: (14:48:18) Minion: caesar193 rolls 1d8 and gets 8. +3 from power attack (one handed weapon used two handed). 11 damage+9 from strength bonus, and +4 strength bonus from rage, and thats 20. I'm assuming that this is a dead bug, but I'll edit the following if this is a surprisingly durable bug.

The axe bit through the exoskeleton as if it were naught but paper. The bug fell, split into two neat pieces, almost perfectly down the middle. Marcus, splattered with bug guts, laughed, and looked for another target.

While Marcus roared in fury, Lucs actions were a contrast; the man made no noise as he scurried down the stairs, edging around to the rear of the other nasty insect. Lifting his wrench up high, he brought it down upon the insect's back.

And with the clunk of a wrench and a splatter of goo, the bug was no more, and Luc's clothes were spattered with ichor. "Well, that was easy!" the man remarked to his friend before getting a better look at the basement. "Ugh... A body," he informed Marcus when he spotted the desiccated form. "Maybe you cab take a look at it - I'll see what can be done about that metal box...!" Marcus was made of tougher stuff than he; if Luc were to study the corpse he would probably gag! Instead, he took to the metal box, studying jt and the door meticulously before reaching in his belongings for a pin...Studying to detect any traps or nasties, 1d20 = 11If Luc thinks all is clear, would wpuld like to pick the lock (if it is locked) 1d20 = 15

The corpse was held together mostly by its blue overalls, with the number 532 on both the front, and back. One pocket held a short magazine for a pistol, and by its weight there were still rounds left. Another held a small medipack, though almost completely out of stores. Two thin plastic cards with unfamiliar text on them. A folding knife, rusted closed.

Turning it over caused several pieces to scatter loose, the head rolling out of sight. There was a backpack underneath, squashed flat over time. Inside was a plastic bag filled with some substance turned black with mould. Two cans, minus their labels, seemed reasonably intact, and a rectangle of some strange plastic stuff, along with a couple of unidentified electronic devices.

As for Luc, the metal box indeed had a lock - a tough little padlock securing two loops of steel. Marcus's axe could likely sweep it off with a stroke, but the lock looked like it would be fairly easy to open...He took out his picks, and as he thought, the lock proved fairly easy, even with the terrible lighting in the basement.

Removing the lock, Luc noticed that as he carefully pulled the door open a dim red flashing light coming from within...

Luc noticed the flashing red light and froze. Amongst other things, he had learned from the stories of the travelers in the pub that red lights were usually a warning; Flashing lights were usually a bad sign; Red, flashing lights? Well, that usually meant it was time to run. Without opening the door any further than the crack he already had, Luc peered inside to see if his fears were realized or if he was jumping at fantastical tales. "Mark - I don't like the looks of this!"

Luc is fearing a red flashing countdown timer, perhaps started by opening the door :p If he recognises one, or something similarly identifiable, he will be piss-bolting for the stairs, pushing Mark with him.I'm supposing it's a knowledge (Engineering) check... perhaps Knowledge (History) if whatever's in there can be recognised from what Luc's learned? Roll 1d20 = 12

Luc flopped down on the grass and sighed heavily, catching his breath - his heart felt like it was in his throat. To Marcus he grinned, "Well. That was exciting! I could've sworn that was some kind of bomb...!" Luc peered back over to the building with narrowed eyes, half expecting it to suddenly erupt in flame and debris to mark his words. "Better safe than sorry, huh? I don't think we should stay here tonight, anyway. Should we find the others?"

Luc adjusted the hat on his head - he felt a bit foolish, now, but he did not feel comfortable going back into that building. "Now... where's Elvis got to?"

Marcus gave Luc an exasperated look, and said "You're supposed to be the smart one, Luc, not me. If it was a bomb, or going to kill us somehow, it wouldn't even be here. Some scavenger would've opened the box, saw the flashing light, and stuck around long enough to be blown up! Besides, why would the person whomloved in this house before the apocalypse have a bomb?"

Marcus sighed heavily, and shook his head. "Here, we still need to find Elvis. If ya don't want to go in there, thats fine, so ill go in and look for the d*** thing. You look for it out here. Yell if something tries to eat you."

He then returned into the house, and walked the way to the basement. Though he knew that chances are that he wouldn't be blown up into pieces, it never hurt to doublecheck. As such, he walked down the stairs, opened the box, and examined the flashing red light.

if the light comes from a portable, not-attached-to-the-box kind of device, Marcus also takes it from the box and examines it in his hand. Oh, and if i need to roll for this examination, i got a 17

Marcus reentered the basement and opened the door. The light inside was most certainly attached to the disk, and it flashed when he opened the door. It began flashing faster and a bebeep sound issued out.

Carnegie was within sight of the building, and saw Elvis nearby Luc, who seemed to be looking with concern at the house. Elvis caught sight of Carnegie, Anya and Kreadle and began to run towards towards her.

The next moment, all of the lower windows of the house suddenly light up, and all of the boards were blown outward by a cloud of dust.

The sound of the blast reached Carnegie a moment later, nearly deafening in its loudness.

Elvis ran full out to Carnegie now, who took the panicked dog into arms for a moment before moving up to the house.

Luc thought the worst for his friend, and walked back to the doorway. He was greeted by loud cursing intermixed with sounds of pain.

The house itself was making unfriendly creaking noises..

Luc: Stunned, no hp damage.Elvis: Shaken, no damage.

Marcus: Stirred, 10 hp damage, after save. Currently has significant debris on top, and various small cuts and bruises. Great save roll changed the outcome

Luc stumbled to the door of the house, nearly tripping over himself more than once - Oh god; why did he let Mark go back down there!? He knew that d**ned light meant trouble!He hadn't noticed that the others had returned, and in the confusion of the moment and from the ringing in his ears, he didn't realize that Elvis had run from his side."s**t..." He murmered, before screaming, "@!#$!" Luc paused at the door of the building, resting a hand on the door jamb and wincing as the building creaked dangerously. He had let his friend get killed - he was sure of it! What was he... wait! A loud curse echoed from inside - Marcus! "MARK! You okay!? The house is @!#$ed up bad! Can you get out!?"

Relief flooded through Luc, and he finally slumped to the ground. The blast hadn't injured him, but he was too disoriented to help, just now.

Carnegie's smile at seeing Elvis coming to greet her, quickly changed to one of shock as the sound and rumble of the blast wave hit her. Elvis nearly flew into her arms, and she held the poor shuddering animal tight as she struggled to comprehend the scene before her. Carrying the big dog as if he were a babe, a feat in itself, she stumbled towards a dark form in the dust cloud. Coughing, she could make out the familiar form of Luc, a streak of blood running from his ear. "What in tarnation happened?!" She shouted at the dazed Luc who was yelling at the rubble, she grabbed his arm. "Is Marcus under there?!"She tightened her grip around Elvis.

The shockwave washed over her and the deafening roar instantly rooted Anya to the spot. Knowing she should move, help, yet struggling with the thought that someone she knew could be lying underneath a pile of rubble; dead. Or worse.. d**nit! Don't go there!..

After what seemed ages, but in reality only took a couple of seconds her drills took over. Rushing toward the house she saw Luc stagger out and slump against the wall. "Are you ok? Luc!"

"Carnie!, come here and take a look at Luc, make sure he's ok! I'm going to see if I can help Marcus get out."

Without another word, and a grim look spread across her face she carefully made to enter the house. Checking all the while that she wouldn't disturb anything that could cause further damage.

"Alright..." Carnegie replied. "Come on, sit down here. Sit down here!" She gestured at the dazed Luc. She proceded to wipe the blood off his cheek. "Hmm, I'm no medic but I think you'll be okay... You're gonna be okay!" She yelled. "Uhm. Kreadle, can you please take a look? I'mma go help out Anya, okay."

I dunno if I need to do any checks for this one, maybe a stealth check to move carefully? I dunno.

She followed Anya into the dusty house, covering her mouth with her arm. Soon enough they found Marcus lodged under a beam, he was still conscious judging by the constant cussing. Together with Anya and a close to raging Marcus, they soon had the beam cleared. Anya was the first to offer him support, Carnegie also held out her arm in offer, but she wasn't sure whether or not the proud Marcus would accept their help. Either way, it was high time to get out of there.

Luc complied, nodding mutely at Carnegie's directions and remaining seated. He was feeling a bit more in control of himself, bit decided against going in the building: more people meant more chance that one of them would bigger things up and have the house crash down! One hand patting Elvis stop him following Carnegie, the man waited.

"F***ing godd*** bombs..." groaned Marcus as the two discovered him under the rubble. "God f***ing d*** the d*** things to f***ing h***..."

As Carnegie and Anya strained to shift a beam, Marcus added his strength to them, all the while describing just what he thought of bombs, collapsing buildings, fate, lucks, explosions, flashing red lights, etc.

Almost woozily, Marcus muttered a quick thank you to his rescuers, as he accepted their offer of support. With Carnegie and Anya's aid, he managed to exit the building and collapse on the soft green (albeit slightly scorched) grass.

Some time later, Carnegie sat stirring her pot of molerat meat as she watched Luc and Kreadle patching up Marcus. She gently shoved Elvis's head aside from the pot and gazed reflectively down on the simmering stew. When first she had returned and the house had almost exploded, she had gotten so very scared. The thought that something could have happened to Luc, she didn't think she could bear to lose him.

She felt a bit ashamed at that thought, something had happened, but not to Luc, well, only a small portion of it had happened to Luc. She was glad Marcus had made it out, but he was still Marcus. Knowing him, he had probably triggered whatever had exploded in the first place. She snorted at the thought and met Luc's inquiring gaze, she smiled at him and continued stirring.

She paid extra care to this batch, there weren't that many people she had cooked for before, and it was always exciting, yet nerve racking to cook for new people.

11 +7 mod to Craft(cooking), I figured I could make that roll since I'm tasting it, using my chunk of molerat meat.

"That stings! Watch where you put that... Ow! Hell, this hurts more than the f***in bomb that put them cuts on me in the first place!" Marcus complained, and then, smelling Carnegie's creation, said "Mebbe if I was fortified with some o' that. And some beer if ya have it."

I would like to take a survival skill check to survive Kreadle and Luc's ministrations

The danger over, and Marcus saved, Luc it was time for retaliation. "You're supposed to be the smart one, Luc!" he mocked as he helped path the man up, "someone woulda stuck around long enough to blow themselves up, Luc!" Luc rolled his eyes, "Looks like someone did now, huh?!" He gave Marcus a pat on the shoulder and stood, walking over to eye the pot Carnegie was stirring hungrily, not in a dissimilar manner to Elvis, "Smelling good, Carny! So, what did you, Anya and Kreadle find out there? Manage to pick off any more 'yotes?"

"Nope, didn't see none, nothing but tracks. Though the ones we sent running were joined by another bunch of em. We went as far as an old building with a playground, we think that's where they're holed up now. I figured we'll go in full force tomarrawh." Carnegie paused and sipped the stew, it tasted pretty good, despite the low quality meat. "We need to finish the job after all, I'm just hoping 'yotes is all we find in those ruins."

"Stew's done, I hope someone remembered to pack spoons and bowls." Seeing Anya return from her short patrol, Carnegie stood up and dusted off her knees. "Alright. Let's eat!" Carnegie sat out a bowl for Elvis and said a short prayer before digging in with the others.

Luc ate greedily, slurping down a good helping of the stew noisily until Carnegie gave him a warning glare, after which he slowed down. "Hey, this is actually pretty good!" he remarked, before looking the Carnegie guiltily, "That is to say, er... Not that I am surprised!"

After his food was eaten, Luc fetched the stim pack that had been given to them by Richards and moved to Marcus. "Look, Marc, can we skip the part where you complain that you're fine and dont need anything, so we can patch you up proper? You'll feel much more like Ing 'yotes in the morning! And after this we should set up a proper camp with a perimeter and get some rest!"